our Bibles and turn with me to
the book of Ephesians chapter four. Ephesians chapter four. I'm going to read some out of
chapter two, chapter three, and then go into chapter four, but
let's ask our Lord's blessing. Our Father, we thank you this
evening for this precious time. And we thank you for the blessing
that we have to call upon you in the name of the Lord Jesus.
And Lord, we ask tonight, and you told us to ask and to seek
and to knock. And you said we have not because
we don't. So Lord, we ask tonight. Would
you bless your word to our understanding and help us to worship. Forgive
us where we failed you for Christ's sake. Amen. The apostle Paul is the apostle
that the Lord called to preach to the Gentiles. And the miracle
of God's grace was that revelation that God Almighty would call Gentiles unto Himself. And Paul the Apostle is preaching
to a Gentile church. He's preaching to a church at
Ephesus. He said in Ephesians chapter 2, and he's telling them
these precious truths. He said in verse 19 of Ephesians
2, he said, now therefore, you are no more strangers and foreigners,
but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of
God. He said, you're not, you're not
foreigners anymore, you're friends. by the grace of God, fellow citizens,
and he said, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone,
built on the same truth, the same person, the same foundation
as the Lord's apostles were built upon, the Lord Jesus Christ,
in whom All the building fitly framed together groweth unto
an holy temple in the Lord, growing as the Lord calls out His elect. God has a people that He's always
loved. They've always been His. But
this building, the church, the bride, groweth. calling out, in whom, verse 22,
ye also are built together for a habitation of God through the
Spirit. You're not finished yet. God's
still calling out His people. You know, we're here tonight.
The Lord still has a people. The Lord's church has all been
called unto Himself. Lord, come back. And here we
are, we're preaching the gospel. God Almighty has a building,
has a church, has a bride. And then Paul the Apostle says
to them in verse 1 of chapter 3, he says, For this cause, because
God has been pleased to reveal to you that you're not strangers
anymore, for this cause I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ
for you Gentiles, if you've heard of the dispensation of the stewardship
of the grace of God which is given to me to you." He said,
you've heard how God called me to be a steward of the gospel.
He entrusted this gospel unto me to preach it to you. And he
said, how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery. As I wrote afore in a few words,
just We read part of those words just a minute ago. He said, you
know how that by God's revelation to me, he made known this mystery
to me, whereby when you read, you may understand my knowledge
in the mystery of Christ. When you read is what I wrote
a four time, you'll understand what the Lord has taught me,
which in other ages was not made known. under the sons of men,
as it is now revealed under his holy apostles and prophets by
the spirit, this, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of
the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ by the
gospel, whereof I was made a minister according to the gift of the
grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his
power. Now, Here's where we'll start,
right here. That's what Paul is getting ready
to say in verse 1 of chapter 4. I'm going to just look at
the first three verses. He says, I therefore, I wanted to read
those other verses so we could understand what is he talking
about when he says, I therefore, because you're not strangers,
because you're built together, because you're built on the same
foundation, because God revealed to me the mystery which was hidden
in ages past. I therefore, the prisoner of
the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith
you are called." Now, the first three chapters of the book of
Ephesians is the setting forth of the doctrinal truth of God's
sovereignty. Ephesians chapter 1 in verses
4-5, we read those verses, quote those verses all the time. How
God Almighty chose a people in Christ before the foundation
of the world that they should be holy and without blame before
Him in love, predestinated, determined the destination beforehand, predestinated
to be conformed the image of the Son, predestinated unto the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself. And then in
these latter chapters, Paul, under the inspiration of God's
Spirit, now is going to set forth the fact or the evidence of those
that the Lord has revealed the doctrinal truth to. In those
first three chapters, doctrinal truth, truth of God's sovereignty.
Truth of the Father's electing grace, the Son's redeeming grace,
the Holy Spirit's quickening grace. And now he's going to
talk under the leadership and direction of God's Spirit on
how a believer walks in this world. The evidence of it. Faith
without the evidence of it. Faith without works. Works does
not save anybody. We're not saved by works of righteousness,
not by works of righteousness that we've done according to
His mercy. He saved us. But I'm telling you, faith that
has no evidence of faith is not true faith. So he says, I therefore,
and he repeats what he said over here in verse 1 of chapter 3,
the prisoner of the Lord. The Apostle Paul, you can read
over in Acts chapter 9, he was arrested on the road to Damascus. I mean, the Lord just stopped
him. He was on his way to Damascus. He was going to have papers,
you know, he's going to take those who were of the way. He
was going to take believers. He was going to take them back
bound to Jerusalem. And he was doing what he was
doing. He was doing zealously. He believed as he believed he
was serving God. He believed this is the right
thing. These, these followers of, of this Jesus of Nazareth,
he's, uh, well, the Lord stopped him and he stopped him in the
middle of that road. And, and he called him Saul.
Saul, why persecutest thou me? Saul has in his hands letters
of authority to take all that were followers of this Jesus
of Nazareth. He was going to take them bound
back. And he said, Saul, and he said, who are you, Lord? He said, I'm Jesus of Nazareth,
the one that you're persecuting. Why persecutest thou me? Lord,
what would you have me to do? Arrested on the road to Damascus
one day, but continually till he died a prisoner bound by the
grace of God. I, you know, I thought about
a prisoner. You know, when we think of a
prisoner, you think of one Milton Howard pastors in Ball, Louisiana,
Milton preaches. If I'm not mistaken, I think
he told me, it's in the teens, how many times he preaches every
week. They're not only there at Kitchens
Creek at the church, but going over to the prison. He preaches
in English, he preaches in Spanish, he preaches to prisoners. He
told me, he said, it's amazing. He said, you can't find one hardly
that's guilty. He said, they're all innocent. You know, they're just victims
of circumstance. I don't know how I got here.
I'm just, he said, nobody's guilty. But you know, you think of a
prisoner, he's one, he's one that obviously doesn't want to
get caught. Do anything, everything in the
world he can to avoid getting caught and the hating the thought
of getting caught when he is apprehended. All he wants to
do is to hurry up and do his time. and get out. Not so with
a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ. One who has been arrested
by power and grace. A prisoner of the Lord whose
mercy has been bestowed upon me. And he'll say this, I've
been arrested by the grace of God. You that know him, do you
really, do you want to be away? The Lord asked His apostles one
day after so many of them wouldn't follow Him anymore. They heard
what the Lord had said. No man can come to Me except
the Father which has sent Me, draw him. No man can. No man
has the ability. No man has the ability to come.
That's a hard saying. That's sovereignty. That's hard. And they walked no more with
Him. They left. And the Lord asked His apostles,
will you go away also? And here's what a prisoner of
the Lord Jesus Christ says, Lord, to whom shall we go? Where are we going to go? Thou
hast the words of eternal life and we believe and are sure that
thou art that Christ, the son of the living God. We don't want
to go anywhere. I want to be right here. I want
to be where He is, meeting where His people is because that's
where He is. I want to hear His gospel. I
want the Spirit of God to open my eyes to some understanding
of His Word. I want to sing the songs that
magnify Him. That's why we sing these songs.
Brother Gary picks these songs out and if there's a song and
it just doesn't ring right, you know, we just don't sing it.
We want to honor him, a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want
to be where God's people are, where the Lord is. I was reading
this morning in 2 Kings. I'm not going to read it. I'll
just tell you it's in 2 Kings chapter 2. But three times the
Lord was going to take Elijah. He was going to receive him up
into heaven. And it was known, it was known
because different You know, the sons of the prophets would tell
Elisha, you know, three times as Elijah was going, and Elisha
was following him. And three different times, Elijah,
who was, he knew that the Lord was going to take him. He knew
he was. The Lord had revealed to him he was going to take him.
And three times, Elijah told Elisha they'd come to Bethel,
and they'd come to this. And three times, Elijah told
Elisha, he said, not, not, you stay here, you stay here. I'm
gonna go on, and Elisha told him three times, he said, as
the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. I'm not leaving. You know what
happened? Elijah, just before the Lord
took him, asked him, he said, what do you ask? What do you
want of me? Elisha said, I want a double
portion of what the Lord's given you. Boy, what a request. I want a double portion of what
God's given you. Elijah said, if you see me when
the Lord takes me up, you'll have it. And he did. He did. But Elisha wasn't going anywhere.
He didn't want to go anywhere. And God's people don't want to
go anywhere. Escape from him? Aren't you glad that we're kept
by the power of God through faith? ready to be revealed that day. Paul had related the truth of
God's mercy and grace to these people. And now he tells them,
I therefore the prisoner of the Lord, having told you what God
has revealed to me, I beseech you, I charge you, that you walk
worthy, worthy. That That word, I got to thinking
about that word this morning. Worthy. And you know, believers
gonna say, but who's worthy to do it? Well, here's what the
word means. You walk appropriately. Walk as it becometh. The calling, the vocation wherewith
you're called. I know this. We have no ability
in ourselves to walk as we would, as we would, as we ought to.
I know we have no ability to. We admit our frailty, but according
to the leadership grace of God almighty, we strive after it. I want to, I want to. A believer knows that of himself,
he can do nothing, but according to the Lord's mercy, Here's what
Paul is saying. Take heed to your conduct. Take heed to your attitude. Take
heed to your speech. Strive to be a credit. Strive to be a proper ambassador
to the one who has called us out of darkness. To the one that
has eternally loved us. to the Lord Jesus Christ who
has in particular redeemed his people. He laid down his life
for the sheep, powerfully called by grace unto himself and keeps
us by power and mercy. Adorn the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ by your walk. Adorn it. Titus 2.7 says this,
In all things, showing thyself a pattern of good works. That is, presenting or exhibiting
yourself to be the model, the model, the die, the die,
the stamp of good works. In all things, present yourself,
exhibit yourself, showing yourself to be the model. Boy, I thought,
oh, Lord, help me. Help me, Lord, that I might walk
appropriately, mindful. A believer is immediately reminded
by the Spirit of God. He knows. He knows himself. He
knows. But in all things, in doctrine and in walk. In doctrine
and the evidence of believing. In our walk, walk by faith, walk
in love, not as fools. Walk in the light that we have. I want you to turn to 1 Thessalonians. Hold your place there in Ephesians.
1 Thessalonians chapter 1. 1 Thessalonians 1. This is what the Apostle Paul
said to the Church of Thessalonica, 1 Thessalonians 1 verse 4 to
7. Knowing brethren, beloved, your
election of God. He said, for our gospel came
not unto you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy
Ghost and in much assurance. as you know what manner of men
we were among you for your sake." And he said, we know your election
of God because you became followers of us and of the Lord. You received
the word, having received the word in much affliction with
joy of the Holy Ghost. And look, he said, also we know
of your election so that you were examples to all that believe
in Macedonia and Achaia. A believer, he knows what he is in himself. He knows, he knows that in him,
that is in my flesh, there dwells no good thing. But a believer
is a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is one that God has given
a heart that desires and strives after being a pattern. I want to adorn the gospel. I want to be an example. Don't you? I mean, don't you? Is there a believer that would
sit here and say, I don't have any desire whatsoever to walk
as a believer? Well, something's wrong. Something's
wrong. A believer desires, longs after,
to be a pattern and puts no confidence in his flesh, strives to do that which is honoring
to Christ. The Apostle Paul back in Ephesians
4, back in verse 1, I mean verse 2, I'm sorry. He said in verse
1, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that you
walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you
call with all lowliness and meekness. He said in a spirit of humility,
in a spirit of gentleness, he said put the best thoughts of
others on them and the lowest thoughts on yourself. With all
lowliness, esteeming others better, better than yourself. I'm telling
you, starting right here in this pulpit, If all of us would esteem
everybody else in here better than himself and take the lower
seat, take the lower way, esteem them with lowliness and meekness,
submitting to the leadership of God's spirit, seeking the
Lord's hand in his providential dealings with us. You know, I
can stand up, it's amazing how I can stand up and, uh, I, uh,
I can, I can preach so easily. And I believe this. I believe
this. I believe this. All things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to his purpose. I believe that. I believe that.
All things. And I'll stand here, and I will
state what I truly believe. All things. And something will
happen, and I'm telling you, bam! Man, I'll fly off the handle,
and I'm thinking, are you kidding me? What kind of an attitude
is that? Well, what kind of attitude do
I have? With all lowliness and meekness, This fella come up one day to
David and started cussing him and throwing rocks at him. And
one of David's mighty men said, you want me to take his head
off for you? I'm telling you, he's gone. He's gone, David said. The Lord told him. The Lord told
him to curse David. The Lord did that. with all lowliness
and meekness. He ordered our steps, I know
that. Whatever it was, it was for my good and for his glory.
Grace has placed us where we are. That's what it is. I beseech you, walk worthy of
the vocation. Lord, teach me, help me. I'm a frail creature and not
worthy to even remotely be called a pattern. With all lowliness, meekness,
long-suffering, patient endurance of an offense. Oh my. By nature, we're so defensive. We're so, you know, you get me,
I'm going to get you back. I'm going to get you better.
I'll get you better than you got me. But with long-suffering,
Be patient with the faults and the infirmities of others. The Lord said, vengeance is mine. Instead of me flying off the
handle, let me talk to him about it. Let me ask the Lord, long
suffering, don't be easily provoked to anger or offended by a misunderstanding. 1 Corinthians 13, 4, charity,
love, suffereth long. And it's kind. It's kind. Consider this, the Lord been
patient with me, been patient with you that know him. Listen
to this 2 Peter 3, 9, the Lord is not slack. He's not delaying. concerning His promise, as some
men count slackness or tardiness, but is longsuffering, patient
to us, to His people, not willing that any should perish, but that
all should come to repentance. The Lord's people are going to
come to Him. All that the Father giveth Me,
the Lord said in John 6, 37, shall come to Me. And him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out. But here this scripture speaks
of the Lord's long-suffering to us. How long has he been long-suffering? He's always been long-suffering. I'm telling you, we came forth
from my mother's womb speaking lies. Liars from birth. Sin. Born in sin. Sinners by
practice. Sinners by choice. Sinners that
love it. And God Almighty is long suffering.
Long suffering. Why? He's not willing that any
should perish. But that all they had given the
Son in electing grace should come to Him. Forbearing. Last part of verse 2. Forbearing
one another in love. bearing with, bearing with, for
bearing, bearing with, enduring. Brother Henry Mahan made this
statement I thought was so good. He says, making whatever allowances
are necessary because you love one another. Whatever allowances
are necessary. Boy, doesn't this go against
the grain of all of us? Colossians 3, 13, forbearing
one another and forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel
against any, I'm going to give us all some advice right here.
Now here's the bottom line. I was listening to Brother Henry,
in fact it was this morning, I was listening to a message
that he preached and he made this, he was preaching out of
Titus, but he made this statement And he said, now, he said, I'm
going to read this scripture. And he said, I know that all
of us here are going to hear it. He said, because all of us
sitting here, he said, we can hear. And he said, here's the
bottom line. He said, for all that know the
Lord, he said, I'm going to tell you right now. He said, either
you'll hear it with ear and the Lord will teach it to your heart
now or he said the Lord is going to teach you anyway. He said
I wish I could learn to just do it the easy way and just hear
it and God gave me a heart to do it. But he said I'm going
to tell you right now. He said you're going to do it.
You're going to do it. It's going to happen. If any
man have a quarrel against any even as Christ forgave you So
also do ye. You got to be for somebody. You
got to be for somebody. Forgive them. As the Lord forgave
you, you forgive them. 1 Peter 4, 8, And above all things
have fervent charity among yourselves. For charity shall cover the multitude
of sins. Last verse for this evening.
Endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of
peace, exerting yourself, endeavoring, endeavoring, exerting yourself
strenuously, eagerly making every effort,
doing whatever it takes, whatever it takes. Don't let there be
a root of bitterness in this body and it be my fault. Don't
let, don't let there be, don't let there be any bickering going
on. And it'd be me endeavoring to
keep, to watch, to guard the unity of the spirit, that unity
that was produced and maintained by God's spirit, the unity of
the spirit in the bond of peace. Uniting ourselves together in
love and quietness, quietness. Coming together, meeting together,
hear the word of God, worshiping, seeking him, asking for his direction,
asking for his blessing, endeavoring. Not be taken up with, you know,
listen, I'm telling you, there's so much stuff in this world that's
just always, you know, crashing in, pushing in. You that have
to go to work every day, I've told you before, I'm so greatly
blessed to be able to come and sit and just study, and it's
quiet, and I don't have to deal with so much that you have to
deal with. And I know it's hard, I know
it's hard, but I'm telling you, When we come together, let's
come together and strenuously, strenuously make that effort
to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. This is
the mark, the characteristics, the badge of a believer. By this, the Lord said, shall
all men know that you're my disciples. How's that, Lord? You love one
another. You love one another. You care
for one another. You lift up one another, you back it, you
got each other's back. I told you about those Scott
telling me that one time, that meant so much to me. He said,
uh, he said, Marvin, I love you so much. And he said, I got your
back. I got your back. I thought, man,
if, if, if both Scott's got my back, I, I, you know, humanly
speaking, I'm, I'm thankful for that believer. He believes what
God says concerning His truth of His sovereignty. He believes
the Lord. He believes God. And he wants
to truly adorn what the Lord's taught him by walking worthy. Walking worthy. I beseech you,
walk worthy of the vocation to which you're called with all
lowliness, meekness, longsuffering, gentleness, endeavoring to keep
the unity, the bond of peace. Lord bless these words to our
heart for Christ's sake. Amen.